Reading time: 4.24

1,047 words

Hey Reader,

“Why are you dithering?” said Joe.

“Me? I’m not dithering,” said I.

“Yes, you’re dithering. What are you doing?”

“I have many things to do and I’m not doing them. Shout at me.”

“I’m not going to shout at you,” he said. “What’s the most important thing?”

“All of it!” I wail.

“No,” he said. “One of them is more important. Tell me.”

I think we all need a Joe in our lives.

Sometimes we just need someone to take charge and say THIS THING RIGHT HERE, NOW GO DO IT.

That’s why you’re reading this email. I had to get it done before the weekend actually arrived, see. So I’m writing it having just had that conversation right up there ☝🏼☝🏼☝🏼

Et voilà!

If we wanna do a thing, we have to make time for it.

And look: I don’t hold with this idea that we all have the same 24 hours in a day.

We all have 24 hours, for sure — unless you’re reading this on Mars or something in which case HI PLEASE CONTACT ME BECAUSE WE NEED TO TALK.

But our 24 hours are not the same. I don’t have children or a third job.

That being said…

We still get to choose where we put the time we do have.

We make time for what matters to us in the moment.

And sometimes Past Us has to make decisions for Future Us that Present Us can damn well stick to.

So, on this fine August Friday, what are you dithering about?

(If you’re not dithering, congratulations, as you were)

Here’s a little exercise to help you:

• Make a list of the things you need to do.
• Cross out anything someone else can or should do for you.
• Put an arrow next to things that can wait until next week.
• From what’s left, choose the thing that seems the most fun in the moment and crack on.

It’s not going to solve all your problems but it will give you a bit of a headspace AND you’ll get started, which is always more helpful and fun than dithering.

It’s also more helpful than someone saying “just EAT THE FROG” like that advice is universally valuable. It’s not. It works for some people, but not for many of us.

Like me.

Tell me to JUST EAT THE FROG and it’ll paralyse me.

So instead of getting mad about it, I wrote a MicroBook called Don’t Eat the Frog which sits directly below that famous book and makes me chortle every time I see them together.

It’s a fun little read and you can and should get a copy here.

And now, for the Friday Goodie Bag. Strap in and brace yourself for these delights and wonders…

The em-dash responds to harsh allegations

If you, like me, are absolutely sick of balloon animals pronouncing nonsense about how em-dashes are only used by AI, you may enjoy this humorous essay by Greg Mania on McSweeney’s.

Like Mary Shelley and Dickens, I’m very fond of the em-dash and have been using it since LLMs were a tickle in a tech-bro’s underpants.

This instructional video on customer service

Dan Kelsall, who runs the University of Creative Idiots with Lewis Kemp, experienced terrible customer service in Halfords and instead of getting mad, he made a video for them. You can watch it here.

This podcast whose entire premise is so mundane it shouldn’t work

My client Sarah introduced me to What did you do yesterday? with Max Rushton and David O’Doherty. They invite a guest on, and simply ask them “what did you do yesterday?” Then the guest runs through their day, hour by hour, activity by activity, and it should be boring but it’s absolutely hilarious.

And a brilliant object lesson in how to take the mundane and spin a story out of it. Because one thing sparks another, sparks another.

Enjoy!

This video on books about pre-colonial Africa

When I was at school, all I learned about Africa was post-colonial. You’d think there was nothing going on before colonists turned up and stole everything. But the continent is vast and incredible and has a rich and fascinating history and if you’d like to learn more, here is a list of books you can start with.

I’m off to learn more about the Benin Empire, which was EPIC.

This 3-minute TED Talk on how to start a movement

Derek Sivers gives the mini-est of TED Talks with a really cool insight into how to start a movement. The most important person isn’t the first one to start… Check this out.

What I’m reading

Still trundling through The Expanse series of books so instead I wanted to share with you some of my shorter reading — Slightly Foxed. I’ve been a subscriber to their literary magazine for a few years now and it’s a quiet delight.

Each issue, there are dozens of medium-long articles about a book. But mostly not books you’ll have heard of! They champion long-lost books that have slipped through the cracks of fame, or perhaps previously been popular but lost to the stacks of time. I’ve read so many cool books I’d never have found otherwise, thanks to this magazine.

What I’m writing

My zine. The next issue is due… well, anytime I like, really. But I’d like to finish it before the end of August and send it out to those on my special zine list at the beginning of September. Change of the seasons and all. This month, my focus is on FEELING THINGS.

Word of the week

retronym

noun: “a new term created from an existing word in order to distinguish the original referent of the existing word from a later one that is the product of progress or technological development (e.g. acoustic guitar for guitar).”

Here are a few more: rotary phone, analogue watch, black coffee (or regular coffee), manual typewriter, manual transmissions.

Can you think of any?

I love retronyms because they hint at the history of the word and the thing being referred to.

Quote of the week

—Mary Oliver

Have a splendid weekend and thanks for being here!

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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